Ken Colbung

Kenneth Desmond Colbung AM MBE (2 September 1931 – 12 January 2010), also known by his indigenous name Nundjan Djiridjarkan, was an Aboriginal Australian leader from the Noongar people who became prominent in the 1960s. He was appointed an MBE and an AM for his service to the Aboriginal community.

Life Colbung was born on the Moore River Native Settlement. His mother died when he was six, and he was then taken to live at Sister Kate's Home for Children. He joined the Australian Army in 1950, and served in Japan and in the Korean War.

He was made a Justice of the Peace in 1980. Amongst his positions, Colbung was also deputy chairperson (1978-1984) and then chair (1984-1990) of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. He also had close links with the Western Australian Museum, and worked with them on their representations of Aboriginal issues for over thirty years.

He died after a short illness on 12 January 2010. He was 78.

Activism Colbung campaigned for the recognition of cultural and human rights for Aboriginal Australians, and was involved in the Australian Black Power Movement of the 1960s.

Colbung became particularly known for his leading role in ensuring that the severed head of his ancestor, the Noongar warrior Yagan, was repatriated from Britain to Australia in 1997.